NAME: ManningCOUNTY: UtahROADS:2WDGrid #:2CLIMATE: MODERATE
TO COLD AND IT IS ACCESSIBLE MOST OF THE YEAR
BEST TIME TO VISIT: Summer only.

COMMENTS:On the back road to Mercur. You can no
longer reach the old Mercur sight form this road. A neighborhood is being
built about 5 miles from this sight, and there has been some vandalism.REMAINS:
All that remains are building foundations and old mining debris, as well
as the mine entrace which is now caved in.

MANNING WAS REPORTED TO BE ONE OF THE FIRST MINING
AREAS IN THE US TO USE THE CYANIDE PROCESS FOR EXTRACTING GOLD FROM ORE.
Submitted by: R. BIRCH

It is an old mining sight, as well as the sight of a mill used to treat
the ore from Mercur. The town was an appendage of Mercur, located here
for the good water supply. In 1890 it became the first major cyanide plant
in the U.S. All went well until a second cyanide plant was built in Mercur
in 1898 called the Golden Gate Mill. It was reinhabited in 1930 when a
more modern mill was built to handle Mercur's ore. It finally shut down
in 1937, when everything was dismantled and moved to Mercur. - Submitted
by Kristine Hale .

UPDATE:Manning, Utah was not the site of any serious mining and its only
reason for existance was the availability of water for the milling process.
Ore was brought down from Mercur by a train. The rail line between Mercur
and Manning was 5.3 miles long,(1) though the actuall distance was much
shorter but the trians needed the gentle grades made possible by a route
that snaked back and fourth up the mountian side. In one spot the rail
line had four switchbacks where the route climbed higher and higher above
itself. It was said that you could sit in the same spot and watch the
same train climb the mountian side for 45 minutes.(3) The road is easily
passable to any vehicle with a reasonable amount of ground clearance.
Its flat and wide as it is an old railroad bed. At the top of the driveable
rail line is a closed gate posted no trespassing since the road continues
into the old site of Mercur. - Brian Snarr